The current healthcare system feels like a ginormous heap of missed opportunity, so it's not hard to imagine ways to improve it, for example:

The Doctor-Patient Relationship

This is how it works at my endocrinologist's office: I get 15 mins a year with the endocrinologist. The other three visits per year I see the Certified Diabetes Educator. That seems to be the protocol at a lot of endocrinology offices.

In my improved reality, I'd get to see my endocrinologist quarterly. We'd have at least 30 minutes together, so we'd have real discussions. My doctor would come to know me as a person. She would understand my health goals and help develop strategies to maintain and improve my health. Also, any appointments or labs would be based the needs of the patients and doctors, rather those of pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

The Wellness Center (formerly the “Medical Center”)

Illness plays far too big a role in today's healthcare system! Most of us interact with it only when we're already sick or hoping to prevent sickness.

How about framing our system differently? So that instead of "Medical Centers" (emphasis on medical intervention) we have “Wellness Centers” (like this one), reflecting an emphasis on health rather than on medicine. The Wellness Center could house not only a primary care doctor, nutritionist, and Certified Diabetes Educator, but also a massage therapist, gym, and cafe serving healthful food. As a bonus, the Wellness Center could be near my home so I could walk or bike to it.

Integrated Technology

Right now I rely on data from a meter, a pump, a fitness tracker, and a handful of iPhone apps and none of them talk to each other.

If I must have all these devices, could they at least communicate seamlessly with each other? And let's have all their data consolidated in a single, easy-to-use Electronic Health Record (EHR) that includes real-time data from doctors and labs. Let's make the data accessible via a smart phone, website, or wearable device. And I'd like to own it and be in charge of it, please.

Insurance Companies

Yeah, just kidding. Insurance companies don't exist in this dream.

This post is part of Diabetes Blog Week.
Today's Prompt:How would you improve or change your healthcare experience?